First Kiss February – Her Eternal Rogue by Gina Danna

Today’s Special First Kiss February featured guest is Gina Danna, author of historical romance Her Eternal Rogue. Welcome Gina, my fellow Love Historicals author! Here’s the first kiss between Alexander and Lavinia.

Francois steered her down the hall to the last room. He knocked, opened the door and shoved her through it. She tripped inside the dimly lit room. Looking up, she brushed the hair that fell across her face. Francois pushed her further into the room, toward a bed with a rumpled sheet.

“Here she is, Capt’n,” he announced to a figure sitting in the dark. Francois caught the silver piece tossed to him, bit the coin and left.

Lavinia jumped away from the bed. A blanket of fear wrapped around her, closing her in, smothering her. She dashed toward the door as the man stood. A hand clamped around her arm, swinging her around. Lavinia realized the steel-blue eyed man from the bar had bought her.

“Lavinia Sinclair?” he asked. Fear stole her voice. A tall man stood before her, but it was too dark to see him clearly. All she could tell was that he had broad shoulders, and he dressed in black with black hair. Her imagination conjured the devil. A demanding demon. Her eyes fixed on his, which glowed, even in the darkness, and his voice dripped like poison. She trembled.

“Answer me,” he demanded angrily.

Lavinia’s mouth went dry. She swallowed hard. “Yes.”

Two bulky men suddenly appeared at her side. They were massive, their arms and chests built solid like stone. She was caged between them, with a bed behind her and their leader before her. Her stomach rolled, and she felt faint.

“Ma chère,” he stated flatly, pulling her closer. “I’d love to play with you.” His silver gaze, glowing in the dimmed room, wandered down to her breasts. She shivered. Deep inside, desire licked for his attention. “But this is not the time.” Those eerie eyes held her. He was too close.

“How long do we have, Johnny?” he queried over his shoulder, his gaze never leaving hers.

The boy behind him came closer, revealing himself as the boy who’d talked to Jean Baptiste.

“Capt’n, maybe minutes. Prob’lay not much more.”

“Sir, takin’ from the Frenchie, is nae guid,” a man on the other side of the room muttered.

The captain gave a sharp laugh. “Then we’ve gotta get out of here,” he said with a lopsided grin. Like his eyes, the glimpse at his white teeth seemed unusual because they too shined in the darkness, and she frowned at the oddity, despite the situation “Jean Baptiste will want my neck.”

“Aye, aye, Capt’n,” came the reply as the window squeaked opened.

Where was he taking her? Her fear escalated. She struggled against his grip, trying to stay put as he dragged her to the window.

“We really don’t have time for this, milady.”

He snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her closer. When she opened her mouth to scream, he covered it with his own. The sudden crush of his lips shocked her into submission. His chest and abdomen pressed against her, and his mouth engulfed hers. Once he touched her, his actions turned soft and gentle as he caressed her lips with his. He traced her lips with his tongue, gently probing for access. Surprised by his intimate kiss, she abandoned her inhibitions, and he invaded her mouth, seductively teasing her tongue with his. Suddenly, he stopped and pulled his head back. He looked into her eyes, surprised.

The pounding at the door snapped them back to the moment.

“Capt’n! We’ve got tae go!” the Scotsman pushed.

The devil holding her grinned wickedly and spun toward the open window, he lifted her easily under his arm. She gasped as his iron grip around her middle, and had no time to think as he leaped over the sill and down to the roof’s edge within seconds. Frantic that he would lose his grip, plunging her to her death, she sucked in air to scream. She opened her mouth but he clamped his hand over her lips, stifling her.

“Not a sound.”

He handed her over to the Scotsman and leaped off the roof. The Scotsman carried her to the edge and dropped her. She fell through the air to her certain death, but he caught her deftly mid-fall. He set her down, grabbed her wrist and ran to the docks.

“We waur beginnin’ to wonder, Capt’n,” a voice echoed from a small boat in the water ahead of them.